CREATIVITY, ACTION & SERVICE

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Creativity, action, service guide ~

"The Official Rules"

Creativity, action, service (CAS) is a fundamental part of the Diploma Programme. Schools are required to offer a programme of activities/projects that meet agreed CAS aims and that have been approved by the IB. Full details about designing a CAS programme, programme submissions and the evaluation of candidates can be found in the Creativity, action, service guide. All diploma candidates must engage in the programme of activities/projects known as creativity, action, service. Non-completion of CAS requirements will result in the diploma being withheld.
Candidates have up to one year to complete the creativity, action, service (CAS) requirement after the completion of their Diploma Programme. Candidates who fail to complete the CAS requirement by 1 May/1 November in their diploma year are allowed one further year only in which to complete it, as detailed in the CAS guide. This further year expires at 1 May/1 November of the year following the main diploma session.

3.3Approval and programme monitoring: May and November 2009

The appropriate regional office is responsible for evaluating, approving and monitoring schools’ programmes for CAS. Newly participating schools must complete a CAS programme questionnaire Form CAS/PQ and submit it to the regional office for approval by 31 January/31 July, 15 months before the candidates complete the diploma. The regional office may request a supplementary written report and, if necessary, an updated questionnaire in subsequent years.
Each year the regional office asks a number of schools to submit a random sample of three diploma candidates’ complete CAS records, including each candidate’s activity/project self-evaluation Form CAS/AEF and a summary evaluation report Form CAS/SFS on each candidate, written by the CAS supervisor. The deadline for receipt of these documents is 1 May/1 November in the diploma year.
The regional director, or an authorized representative, may visit the school as part of the monitoring process. This may be at the regional office’s initiative or following a request by the school. Schools are required to keep central CAS records; these must be made available to the regional office on request.

3.4Approval and programme monitoring: May and November 2010

The appropriate regional office is responsible for evaluating, approving and monitoring schools’ programmes for CAS. Newly participating schools must complete a CAS programme questionnaire Form CAS/PQ and submit it to the regional office for approval by 31 January/31 July, 15 months before the candidates complete the diploma. The regional office may request a supplementary written report and, if necessary, an updated questionnaire in subsequent years.
Each year the regional office asks a number of schools to submit a random sample of three diploma candidates’ CAS records. Where a school is required to submit sample candidate CAS records to the regional office as part of their regular monitoring process, the records required will be:
  • the CAS progress form (see Model form A in the Creativity, action, service guide “Appendices” for a possible model)
  • the CAS individual candidate completion form (see Model form B in the Creativity, action, service guide “Appendices” for a possible model)
  • up to 10 sample pages from the candidate’s ongoing documentation. These sample pages, which may, for example, be photocopied journal pages or printouts from electronic logs, must include a list of the principal activities undertaken and evidence of both planning and reflection. For one or more activities, it must be possible for the reader to tell what happened, why it happened, how it happened, what its value was and what the candidate learned from it.
Coordinators must retain other supporting material until 31 May/30 November in case there are queries about the material supplied. As part of routine monitoring, or during five-year reviews, regional offices may request to see the complete documentation for individual candidates.
The regional director, or an authorized representative, may visit the school as part of the monitoring process. This may be at the regional office’s initiative or following a request by the school. Schools are required to keep central CAS records; these must be made available to the regional office on request.

3.5Programme evaluation and completion

Schools are responsible for evaluating candidates’ CAS activities/projects and performance according to the performance criteria given in the Creativity, action, service guide. Coordinators must notify the regional office whether or not candidates have completed their CAS programme by submitting a CAS programme completion Form CAS/PCF to arrive by 1 May/1 November in the diploma year.
Candidates who fail to complete the CAS requirement by 1 May/1 November in their diploma year are allowed one further year only in which to complete it, as detailed in the Creativity, action, service guide. This further year expires at 1 May/1 November of the year following the main diploma session. This allowance of one year is available because there is no retake category for the CAS requirement.